PurpleLuva01's VERY LATE Valentine's Day Gift!
by Purpleluva01
Summary: A simple collection of one-shots that surround one of my favorite couples from Archipleago! This was originally a gift for Valentine's day but please take it as you will!


**_Reptilian-Angel's_**

**_VERY LATE_**

**_Valentine's Day Gift!_**

**_By_**

**_Reptilian-Angel_**

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**ME: This was a one-shot list that I came up with VERY earlier on in the year but due to constant writer block and other things like my procrastination, I never managed to get it online in time for Valentine's day!**

**But I'm in a bit of a rut right now and I need to spread some love so here I am with posting this! Hope you like it!**

**These all span from all over the Arch books up to and after the current storyline so I hope you'll recognize all specific points mentioned!**

**Obviously I own nothing! Poo!**

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**H – Happiness**

People say happiness is determined by the wideness of one's smile or by the volume of one's laughter. Others say that by the brightness of the twinkle in someone's eyes or how expressive their actions are. People even say that happiness is reassured by the pitch of a singing voice or by the steps of feet in a dance.

In Riley Luck's and Alice Pintur's case, it goes by the following; large grins caused by unnaturally sharp or regular buck-teeth whenever a private joke was mentioned. Booming, snorting and rumbling laughter caused by whatever they deemed hilarious. Sea green eyes and grass green eyes sparking hungrily when food, fighting or each other are included. Hands and often mouths intertwined out frequently in the bold face of public, usually to other people's chagrin. A gruff, laidback voice and high-pitched, merry voice singing off-key to centuries-old sea shanties without a care to the world with two sets of feet clogging clumsily, trying their hardest not to step on the other's feet.

How people determined their happiness was none of their own concern. They easily made their own.

Anyone who thought different could dunk their heads in a fountain.

**A – Acceptance**

"Acceptance" was an odd word for Riley.

It was even odder when it was mentioned in the same sentence as he and his brother.

Being a Half-Blood, "Denial" was part of the territory; especially if you were a Sharkman Half-Blood.

He tried to ignore it; brushing it off with large toothy grins, flirty comments and bold acts of expression that sometimes got a laugh or two out of people.

He did the best he could to break apart that thick shell of pain that Tuff plastered around himself, never giving up even though the closest thing that his twin gave him was a sad ghost of a smile.

He even went as far as throwing himself at random women at each place they came across, desperate to prove that maybe "Acceptance" wasn't as odd and distant as it seemed.

Even after eight years of work, he didn't even come close.

He had his hopes pinned on Credenza; the tall, green-eyed, dark-haired, spunky waitress that Tuff had saved from drowning one afternoon while out on a swim. Those hopes dimmed as time rolled on and he caught the special smiles, words and a particular kiss that she gave to her friend of a Former Nightmare Spirit-Gone-Human.

He had been near close to giving up when Tuff stunned him in silence by saying, "We're going to Quillotia. We're going home."

He had been near close to acknowledging defeat when a conveniently short, delightfully plump, gorgeously red-haired girl, whom he would alter learn was the girl to which he and brother and their friends had to return to their home kingdom for, poked his nose with a smile saying, "Take care of yourself, Tough Guy."

That changed his whole world entirely.

He lost his rhythm; he blew his cover by willingly, but _totally_ **_not_** **_intentionally_**, walking into a bar full of Were-Whales with more than one score to settle with his race. He lost his head and let his more nasty side of his Sharkman come out when it seemed to be a dead end for him and his brother. He spaced out when trying to reassure his over-worrying brother, dazed by thoughts of fierce red hair and grass green eyes.

Simply put, his heart had been taken. Hook, line, sinker.

He lost his rhythm once again when he spotted her coming in, standing out from the crowd of the ballroom.

So much in fact, he had let loose of his control and snarled at the girl when all she wanted was to help. It didn't help when she gave him a swift punch to the snoot.

So much for "Acceptance".

Riley could hardly recount his surprise when instead of punching him when he went after her to try and explain, she stuck her fingers in his mouth; grass green eyes wide in wonder at his sharp teeth.

"Acceptance" was one of the first words that came to his mind. Quickly accompanied by "Sweet" when he caught her scent as she tried to clean off the blood she caused.

"Acceptance" rang out more clearly than before as she screamed at the Traitorous Quillotian Ravens who were just about to throttle him, "So are you going to put down my Sharkman or am I going to bust some heads?"

Dear Mother of God, was his heart hooked.

"Denial" then decided to make its' ugly face known. At least that's what Riley thought when Alice had disappeared in the Castle Fandango's sudden collapse of rocks and rubble.

He thought she had been buried alive. He thought she had died. That God had taken her from him. That thought ripped his heart to pieces.

So when he saw her, shrunk down smaller than his hand and in one piece and **_alive_**, Riley finally buried "Denial" deep in cold, dark place it had come from.

"Acceptance" no longer seemed odd to Riley. Not anymore.

And when he saw Alice's tear-budded smile after he pulled away from the spontaneous kiss he planted on her lips, he knew she thought the exact same thing.

**P – Purity**

Pure souls were often rare. Very rare, in fact. Souls that wasn't corrupted by hate or violence, that thought more instead of act.

Any who said they were pure of heart were either full of themselves or full of it.

As Riley shifted the grass green mandrake-shaped soul that was his girlfriend/girl of his dreams, he was grateful that he knew otherwise.

**P – Playfulness**

Goofing off was often part of a relationship.

So it's only expected when your boyfriend takes the whipped cream that you were using to coat your waffles and instead sets it off on your face.

Regardless, that didn't stop Alice from gasping and seizing the can, squirting its contents right back at him.

This continued on back and forth for an hour, draining the can until it was dry and both she and he were splattered from head to toe in by-product dairy. Along with most of the kitchen.

Which made the deep kiss that Riley gave her while they were cleaning up their mess, with him saying, "Why let only the waffles get all the good taste?" With a toothy, flirty grin, all that more . . . _Alluring_.

Needless to say, the kitchen did not get cleaned, much to Tuff's confusion when he came in to get some tea, anytime soon.

**Y – "You and I"**

Alice never imagined that those three words could sound so perfect.

Being a girl whose been more or less rejected just for being, or in frequent cases _looking_, the way that she was, she hardly expected hearing them with a guy that she liked.

This is why she always felt the need to kiss the Red-Haired Sharkman that she loved silly whenever he said those three simple words.

And Riley never made mind to ask why.

**V – Valentine**

It was common for people to go overboard for the ones they love. _Especially_ during the holidays. **_Especially_** during **_Valentine's_** Day.

It either ended one of two ways; the person receiving the valentine would be either horrified and embarrassed beyond belief or flattered and enamored beyond reason that it was ridiculous.

Alice didn't react as wither when Riley presented her with his valentine; a disgruntled Kor Yander, most likely forced into wearing a cupid diaper with a quiver full of fake arrows and a bow, holding a sign saying, "Be My Valentine?" In big, bold letters.

Instead she busted out laughing until tears came out of her eyes. It would be a good five minutes before she convinced Riley to let the Avian go with a "Yes" and two kisses.

One to Riley for the thought and one to Kor for the trouble.

**A – Anniversary**

Anniversaries are very important to couples when it comes down to it. Especially to a Sharkman and his girlfriend.

So when Riley plans to give Alice the best day she's ever had; he more or less lives up to it.

He takes her out around he afternoon for a lunch which he books in a nice restaurant, not too formal, not too casual, in advance, thanks to the help of the experienced waitress Credenza Black; where they spend three hours just chatting and laughing all through the afternoon.

After that, with Riley greatly insisting about paying the check on his behalf, he takes her to the marketplace where they browse aimlessly; stopping only to buy a pair of earrings that Riley pays for once again when they catch her eye and refused to budge, much to Alice's humored chagrin.

As night falls, he ends up taking her to a local festival where everybody dances and sings to the music vendors playing their instruments loud and proud for all to hear. Without provocation but betraying himself with a sly grin, he suddenly sweeps her off her feet and with her smiling brightly and laughing at his actions, begins leading her in an energetic waltz in the middle of the small crowd.

As the fast-paced music turns slow, he is more than happy to pull her in close, wrap his arms around her wide frame and hold her to him as though she was the most precious jewel in the entire world. When Alice rests her head on his near bare chest, his heart swells with love and pride. Pride knowing that he managed to pull a day like today off with a success.

When a thought comes to his mind, he fingers the stone around his neck meaningfully, considering the opportunity that he has with her, right here, right now.

Looking down at her, he sighs quietly and lets the Heartstone go.

There's always the next anniversary.

**L – Love**

Alice had forgotten how good it was to be held, to be wanted by somebody she wanted. Every time she and Riley touched, they both instantly knew to take it as slow as they could; they both wanted the moment to last.

Her soft hands brushed his face, giving him the touch that he needed more than anything else. She loved kissing him as he touched her over and over and over with his naturally rugged and gentle hands; Riley focusing on giving her as much pleasure and love as she gave him. Her heart swelled at his tender actions.

As cliché as it sounded, Alice and Riley wanted to join together and intertwine their souls and bodies like they never could again. Their desire to express their love was both logical and maddening. To feel each of their magic churn within each other like clashing tides, warming and electrifying their systems with pure bliss. The grip he held onto her with was all that held her together from what would fracture her to pieces. And when she looked up and his deep, sea green eyes looking back at her, she knew he felt the exact same way.

Neither held anything back; she gave herself to him in a way she hadn't even thought of to anyone else before. Not only just things she could hold back, such as her heart and body but with the wish and hope that he could give her reason to go on.

When they reached the end, she heard a small voice whisper only one honest thing, "You gave him everything and he gave it all back."

And she hoped to hear it again soon and forever enough.

**(This excerpt is an actual scene from James Patterson's "1****st**** to Die" from his "The Women's Murder Club" series. When I read it, I couldn't help but think that this fit this couple perfectly!**

**To set the record straight, I do not own this scene; I use it simply for creative purposes!)**

**E – Embrace**

Riley couldn't get enough of holding Alice.

Each time that he held her she fitted into him perfectly; her head resting on his chest the top of it reaching her collarbone and the tips of her ponytail tickling his mouth and the tip of his nose. Her hands pressing in between his shoulders as her stout arms curved under his ribs and her more than ample chest pressed into his stomach.

He easily smelled sea water and fruit when he held her close, his heart pacing to hers each time it heard a thump of her heart. His hands diverting themselves by stroking her long streams of rose red hair or tracing the heavy freckle trails over her shoulders and back. He couldn't help but smile when she nuzzled into him, enjoying his scent and warmth.

He felt complete whenever it was like this. Alice was like that whole other puzzle piece to his being, the other side to him that he had been missing. If he could he could hold her forever.

As long as she didn't have a problem with that, neither did he.

**N – Negotiation**

Alice and Riley were a more reasonable couple than most people thought. Whenever they had a subject they would try to find the best possible solution to it before doing something reckless.

So when Riley argued that using a bat to clear out moofs would be sufficient enough when they were infesting his room, Alice would counter that a broom would cause less destruction and get more moofs than he could by squashing them.

It wasn't until he had completely destroyed the fine dishware in the kitchen did he finally come to terms with the agreement.

To seal the deal, he tossed the bat into the cargo hold.

Now he had to deal with negotiating with Raven and that newfound bump on his head.

**T – Trust**

Riley never thought about owning up to his past of being a player.

Then again, he never counted on Alice innocently asking his twin brother about any former girlfriends that he had before her.

Geez, did Tuff owe him a stiff cup of ale for that one.

From Tuff's account, according to what Alice understood, Riley had probably flirted with at least eighty-nine percent of single/non-single girls in the Archipelago. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it was just to be desperate for a date while one percent of the time it was looking for an actual connection.

When a rather steamed Alice confronted a rather surprised Riley about it, after a failed session of complete and utter denial from the taller, sharp-toothed Half-Shark and a look from the shorter, plump Quillotian, he admitted to it with nothing short of shame and nervousness.

To say Alice was upset with him was an understatement.

The stricken look that she gave him was enough for Riley to grab her hand before she could walk away, pull her back to him and wrap his thick arms around her curved shoulders, saying that he knew he had made plenty of stupid mistakes in the past, she was not one of them. That nothing or nobody in the world mattered more to him than her. That she was the only one he ever wanted to be with forever and a day. That he loved her no matter what.

The silence that hung over the both of them made Riley feel as though his heart was ready to take a deep nosedive into a dark, lonely abyss. That would be definite if she pushed him away and never spoke to him.

That made Riley want to hold on to Alice all the more tighter.

So when Alice finally did turn around to face him, showing him her teary but forgiving smile, Riley felt like the luckiest man alive.

Who says trust is hard to come over in a relationship?

**I – Introduction**

Riley still had no idea whether or not Dragonfly planned on him meeting Alice the first chance he got.

He didn't know if it was destiny at work when the woman who gave up her money for him to pay for his _large_ meal bill would be the object of interest not only for him but for his friends' during their whole adventure in Quillotia City. He had only figured that part out a few seconds after _finally_ learning her name while she was slipping into _bustling_, _heavy_ _crowds_.

He didn't know if it was by some crazy twist of fate when while their cousin was holding a ball in their honor, the same woman would appear yet again almost like godsend, dressed in servant clothes and peering around in the ballroom in wonder and intrigue. At the time, he was far more concerned with getting a tweezel to cooperate with him as her wrapped it around his mouth to hide his teeth.

And he absolutely did not know if it was just by pure, blind luck – _Which was a little ironic giving the trouble he and Tuff were prone to attracting_ – that after getting popped off twice, the first time by one random old lady he took the tweezel from and the second time by the very same woman haunting his thoughts ever since that very same afternoon he had scared with his teeth, when she tried to clean off the blood dripping out of his nose with her handkerchief, he caught a stimulating scent of her hand.

The very same scent that Dragonfly had given him as a gift.

And to think, he could've figured all that out sooner if he just exchanged introductions with her.

Well, soon he would again.

After all, when she and he were married, she would need to be introduced to his cousin as Missus Alice Luck, wouldn't he?

**N – Need**

Neediness was a common occurrence when a boy and a girl were dating.

Needing to make sure that the other was comfortable with what they were doing at the time.

Needing to listen to the other's problems and helping him or her find either a solution or middle ground when they didn't know what to do.

Needing to be there when they needed him or her the most.

Riley had never felt such a stronger sense of need as he held the hand of the vacant shell that was originally Alice Pintur.

The need to look into her big, grass green eyes and see her looking right back at him with all her soul.

The need to hear her laugh her head off after he tells her a funny story to try and cope with the pain of her being here yet gone at the same time.

The need to see her smile at him as he gently coaxes her to bed and kisses her goodnight with a shaky smile, despite the depressing emptiness inside that wanted to burst like a dam.

He needed her.

He needed his Alice Pintur as much as a man needed air to breath or a shark needed water to swim.

This was why when Alice's soul was finally returned to her body and she gave a sharp left uppercut right into the solar plexus, he welcomed the burning pain and relieving tears with open arms.

As he planted another spontaneous kiss on her lips, tears still trekking down his face like rain, the need for his love and future mate never felt so good.

**E – Erotic**

Each man has a particular way of finding their partner . . . . _Erotically_ attractive.

By physical appearance, the way they talk or the way they move, there's always something that manages to make a man weak at the knees for his woman of choice.

For Riley Luck, it was simply the matter of watching Alice Pintur take down a giant rock golem at least thrice her size with nothing but her magic and her bare hands.

What more could he want aside from that?

**S – Sweet**

Looking at Riley, taking in his unusually tall, naturally well-built, almost bummish appearance and flashy and tasteless way of dressing, along with his strangely sharp teeth, eyes that turn black whenever the other half of his blood took control, the fact that he can eat more than his own body weight in food and probably put a fist-shaped hole in the wall if he wanted to with just raw strength; everyone was safe to automatically assume that Riley was nothing but a brutish goon.

However, Alice begged to differ.

After all, this was the man who had brought her a large bouquet of some of the most gorgeous tiger-lilies that she had ever seen.

She felt proud of the fact that she was one of the special few who could see sweetness from within the Younger Luck Twin.

**D – Decision**

A decision was all it took to wanting to ask a question.

A decision that would either give what you wanted more than anything in the world or a great heaping help of rejection.

A decision that scared the living the hell out of you to ask but still filled you with courage to do so anyway.

Timing was especially important when one such decision is made.

Patience was key with this decision, no matter how long it took to ask the question.

Riley knew all this for certain when he asked his new wife of six weeks as they lay side-by-side together in bed, "Alice . . . Will you have a child with me?"

The decision to do so was hers alone. As badly as he wanted what he wanted, her word came first before anything else.

The tight, stifling fear that built in his chest when a long silence hung over them was instantly evaporated when Alice suddenly broke out into a huge smile, shot up and threw her arms around him, kissing him over and over and over and over again.

Riley, the minute that he got over his shock, responded to her kisses with just as much vigor and passion as she did.

The very same night that followed after made Riley Luck no prouder than he was before for making that fateful decision.

He could only hope the same decision would be easier to ask the next few times around . . .

**A – Apology**

When Riley and Alice fought, there were times that even fireworks couldn't match the ferocity of the sparks flying between.

They were also times where the resounding boom of words that were never meant to be said echoed far more loudly than that of a lit dynamite stick.

The tension and awkward silence between them was as painful as it was depressing. Like an aftershock that continued to rumble even as it seemed safe to step out into the world.

Both boy and girl were strong, proud people. Possibly a side effect of being Quillotian and having . . . _Stubbornness _issues. Neither one were willing to admit the other was wrong right away nor did they want the other to just say something to try and brush the whole thing under the rug.

It would often take a great deal of time for one half of the pair to step up and apologize first.

Riley watching Alice from a distance as she fiddled with flowers on a florist stand, only gave one small sigh before walking up to her from behind, setting his hands on her shoulders, giving her a start, and gently hug her to him, just as softly nuzzling her hair.

The words that came out of his mouth when Alice turned her head to face him were short, but filled with nothing but love, apology and hope for her and her forgiveness.

The boom of his earlier words seemed to echo in his ears as he took her hand and held it to his mouth like an anchor, fearful that she would drift away from him if he were to let go.

Alice's eyes were glistened with tears that shook like her smile, her own apology and her own hope coming in to him loud and clear.

Couples were prone to fight, that's strictly in their nature.

But it's the matter of how much one puts into the apology that makes the relationship worth it.

**Y – Year**

One year.

So much could change within one year.

The same went especially to Riley and Alice Luck.

The first year they had spent together was nothing short of exciting.

They had met, gotten to know each other, fallen in love after one day.

They had fought against the forces of evil, human and spirits alike and walked away with each other whole.

They had gotten married in a wonderful wedding ceremony in which all their friends and family attended.

It was one heck of a wedding, too; it was Raven's first chance at seeing what the whole "matrimony" and "eternal bliss" thing was all about, which resulted in him trying exceedingly hard not to cry when vows were exchanged, much to Credenza's never-ending glee. Alice's brothers, specifically Lio, had once again warned Riley that if he did _anything_ – _And they did mean anything_ – At all to hurt her, he'd be joining his fellow Were-Sharks in the bone alleys of Quillotia, despite the evil glare that their sister gave them in response. To top it all off, Tuff ended up catching the bouquet when the time came for Alice to throw it. The blush that formed on his face when he realized that a rather beautifully-dressed Cassie was standing right next to him with a small smile of her own was so fierce it nearly rivaled Alice's own hair color.

The said blush deepened even more when he shyly gave it to her, out of innocent gentlemanly instinct.

Riley was sure to remember the hope he felt at that moment for his own brother's chance at happiness for the rest of his life.

Finally, to top it all off, a third member of their family would be joining them for the coming of the first year of their lives.

To be exact, their son. Riley and Alice Luck's firstborn son.

Their son was a large, active baby when he first came to the world, most likely the main source of his mother's extremely bizarre and constant mood-swings while still in her pregnancy.

Like his father, he was loud and easy to get excited. To add, he had wild, bristling hair that shocked all over his head and two rows of sharp, cute teeth that would grow larger and sharper with time. In many ways, he nearly was the spitting image of Riley as an infant; the only difference being he had the same rose red locks, and a wide variety of freckles all over his body like his mother. If that weren't enough he had the same small temper when he got upset and could easily deliver almost as much damage as she could if ever provoked.

The mixed personalities of Sharkman and Quillotian within him would make him a force to reckon with when he was older.

If that didn't, then the magic he had inherited that would give him the power to _grow_ instead of shrink would certainly do the trick.

Their son would be turning one year old just a couple days after this day. And neither father nor mother could be any prouder.

Especially since both their older brothers had finally come to accept the chosen name the couple gave to him. A name that was born from an impulsive promise and familial love.

_Lio Tuff Luck_.

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**ME: I'm so sorry if I made this bad-ass couple's baby's name predictable! But after seeing the Arch kid meme on TSTH's tumbler, reading back into Archipelago Book 8 and seeing Riley promise to name his first kid after Tuff, I could resist!**

**Plus, I figured that since she never really did tell us Lio's middle name I figured that would fit into this nicely!**

**Once again, I own nothing but I hope that you enjoy it!**


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